Quantic Dream’s upcoming Beyond: Two Souls was recently featured at Tribeca Film Festival. The games the studio has worked on in the past are best categorized as “interactive movies” with past titles having deeper focus on non-linear storytelling over intricate gameplay. It’s no surprise then that the French developer is hiring film screenwriters and directors to assist David Cage in bringing his visions to life.
Beyond: Two Souls’ script is about 2,000 pages and was written exclusively by David Cage; having a staff of writers assisting in creating these stories could be a welcome addition to the studio. Their next project, a currently untitled PS4 game, has a staff of three writers, Cage included. The stories told in Quantic Dream’s games are still David Cage’s visions and, as such, he will continue to have the final word regarding all future projects.
Upcoming iOS space sim Star Command has a launch trailer and a release date: Thursday–for iDevices only. Android and PC releases are still in the works with the Android release planned first and PC to come later.
Arkham Origins developer WB Montreal has passed on casting Kevin Conroy, who has voiced Batman in multiple titles since Batman: The Animated Series, as Batman in the upcoming videogame. WB Montreal stated that since Arkham Origins is an origin story featuring Bruce Wayne in his younger years, they’re looking for someone younger to fill the role. While fans of Conroy’s voice work as the caped crusader will be disappointed, it is understandable that they’d cast an actor with a younger sounding voice to portray Batman in his earlier years. No news as to whether or not Mark Hamill will reprise his role as The Joker.
In an interview about his most recent film, Pain & Gain, Michael Bay addressed concerns regarding his upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot. Rumors have been circulating since the film’s announcement that the Teenage, Mutant, and Turtles part of the title were misleading as it was believed the beloved characters were aliens and not mutated turtles; the film’s original title, Ninja Turtles, was further indication that the titular characters may be aliens.
However, Michael Bay has clarified that the crime fighting reptiles remain true to their roots as turtles mutated by the ooze:
There was that quote saying that we’re making [the Ninja Turtles as] aliens. We’re not. It’s the ooze! It’s from the original source material. These are from the original writers, and I never went out to correct myself in the press. I do listen to the fans and I do want this to be authentic. I think they’re going to be really happy with this movie.
The film’s title has officially been changed to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Dark Horse Comics will be releasing a new Halo comic miniseries. Titled Halo: Initiation, the series will follow Spartan IV Sarah Palmer in her ODST days and will chronicle her service in becoming the first Spartan IV commander; her character was first introduced in Halo 4. Halo: Initiation is being written by Brian Reed who previously worked on the comic book adaptation of Halo: Fall of Reach as well as the screenplay for Halo 4.
In other Halo news, Epic Games’ global marketing lead Kendall Boyd has parted with Epic in order to work at Microsoft Studios as the Director of Halo Global Marketing. He has shipped over 35 games at Epic as well as EA Sports and THQ.
A sequel to the classic NES brawler River City Ransom has been officially announced by Combit Studios. The announcement states that the sequel will not be River City Ransom 2, but they are working closely with Million Co., RCR trademark holder and property licenser, to ensure that the sequel will be true to the spirit of the original and provide fans with the best experience.
The River City Ransom sequel is planned for an August 2014 release with crowd-funding launching for the game this summer. It is currently planned for release on Windows, but other platforms are being considered (likely depending on how much money is generated with their crowd-funding campaign).
After showcasing their upcoming adventure game Beyond: Two Souls at Tribeca Film Festival, Quantic Dream has prepared a new trailer for eager fans. Beyond: Two Souls would probably be best described as an interactive movie, in line with Quantic Dream’s past games, and stars Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. It is set to be released this October.
As a fan of the studio’s past work (most notably Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy), I’m excited to get my hands on Beyond this fall.
The rumors regarding the rebranding of the XCOM shooter as The Bureau are true. The game is still set in the XCOM universe but is no longer an FPS as it has been repurposed as a “third-person tactical squad-based combat game” with team and tactics “at the forefront of our gameplay experience,” according to The Bureau’s creative director Morgan Gray.
Keeping with the spirit of the franchise, when squadmates die in this tactical shooter, they’re gone for good. While this gameplay element isn’t anything new for the franchise, it’s certainly something that isn’t seen in shooters. In regards to this, Gray continued saying, “Our plotline is always moving forward. The consequences of that loss are immediate and there’s no way to hide from them. The war will not stop for you.”
When it was first announced (simply as XCOM), fans of the original games were upset at its radical departure from its strategy game roots. The game went silent for quite some time before the recent rumors started circulating about its rebranding. It is nice to see that they’re not wholly abandoning the original concept and keeping the game in the XCOM universe, but it would have been interesting to see the original vision of the game fully realized. The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is being developed by Bioshock 2 developer 2K Marin and is scheduled for release August 20, 2013. The press release and trailer for this XCOM spin-off are below:
Set in 1962 at the height of the Cold War, The Bureau tells the origin story of the clandestine XCOM organization’s first encounter with a mysterious and devastating enemy. Originally established as America’s covert defense against the Soviet Union, The Bureau must adapt and overcome a threat unlike anything the world has faced before. As special agent William Carter, players will call the shots and pull the trigger, leading their squad of agents in the high-stakes secret war for humanity’s survival. Paramount to repelling the outside threat is The Bureau’s ability to cover-up the enemy’s existence in order to prevent worldwide panic.
In the spirit of the XCOM franchise, The Bureau’s calculated combat design requires players to think and act tactically. The game’s third-person perspective gives the player a sense of spatial awareness and grants them the freedom to transition in and out Carter’s unique Battle Focus ability seamlessly — heightening the tactical shooter action. The Bureau also fully embraces the concept of permanent consequence. As our last line of defense, every command can mean the difference between life and death for Carter, his squad and mankind.
Microsoft has confirmed that it will be unveiling its next-generation videogame console in nearly a month. With the date set for May 21, we still have quite the wait to find out what they have in store for the future of Xbox, but it’s nice that they’ve finally said something about the inevitable Xbox 360 successor.
The reveal is set to take place just 19 days before E3, so hopefully their E3 conference will focus more on the games and less on the system’s new features (it’d also be refreshing to have a conference that doesn’t flaunt Kinect and all the terrible games that have been made for it).
According to Major Nelson’s blog, the conference will focus on the future of Xbox and give us a “real taste of the future.” The conference will stream on Xbox Live, xbox.com, and be broadcast on Spike.
A computer animated film based on the Ratchet & Clank property is currently in production at Escape From Planet Earth studio Rainmaker Entertainment in association with Blockade Entertainment. Ratchet & Clank as a franchise has been well-received over the years for its imaginative worlds, platforming mechanics, exotic weapons, and its sharp comedic writing. As its writing has been celebrated in the past, it’s encouraging to fans that Insomniac–the developer responsible for the games–screenwriter TJ Fixman is penning the script. Beyond that, Insomniac will be actively involved in the film’s production.
A synopsis of the film was included in the press release announcing its production:
Ratchet and Clank tells the story of two unlikely heroes as they struggle to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet is the last of his kind – a foolhardy ‘lombax’ who has grown up alone on a backwater planet with no family of his own. Clank is a pint-sized robot with more brains than brawn. When the two stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team of colorful heroes called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy. Along the way they’ll learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one’s own identity.
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